Written by GeekGirlCon Manager of Editorial Services Winter Downs.
One thing I love about volunteering for GeekGirlCon is the sense of community we foster among our attendees–and even among people who haven’t yet made it to the Con!
Each year we have a booth at Sakura-Con, the biggest anime convention in the region, and this weekend I got to help out.
Sakura-Con has a celebratory atmosphere, and the cosplay is among the best and most varied I’ve ever seen. (Excepting GeekGirlCon, of course–but then, I may be biased!)
Written by Meg Humphrey, Programming Project Manager
This post originally appeared on May 4, 2014 at Have You Nerd.
May Fourth has become the official Star Wars holiday over the last few years. As a Star Wars Fan since I was old enough to comprehend what a movie was, you’d think that it would be my favorite day of the year (outside of holidays where I get presents, of course). This is where I’ll admit that, for a little bit, I was a Star Wars hipster in the way where I really disliked the idea of “May the Fourth.” Suddenly Facebook would be blowing up with posts “May the Fourth be with you!” and I would get unreasonably angry. I would think “You’re not a Star Wars fan! Luke Skywalker isn’t lame! You haven’t cried while reading the X-Wing series or the Jedi Academy Trilogy! You don’t collect any of the toys! CG YODA IS NOT BETTER THAN CRAZY PUPPET YODA! Stop pretending!” Then I realized that I was part of the problem; I was acting as a gatekeeper to my fandom. I needed to cut it out and I did. I’ll never again forget that Star Wars touches uncountable lives in many different ways and there’s no one true way to be a fan.
Star Wars Celebration VI Attendees
Repeat after me:Star Wars is for everyone. Casual fans, die hard fans, fans who started with The Clone Wars, fans who saw A New Hope opening night in 1977, fans who hate the prequels, fans who love the EU (now the “Legends” books), old people, young people, girls and boys (and any gender outside or in between), Sith, Jedi, Wookiees, Trandoshans, Bith, Ewoks, politicians, pilots, and every other being in the galaxy. Star Wars is for you (and for me) and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
On the whole, Star Wars fans are beautiful. We’re eager to make friends and connections, to talk about our speculations and feelings, and to just enjoy the vast universe that is being set before us. You’ll find people with different opinions than you, but we’ll try to discuss them rationally and without hurting each other’s feelings (we just sometimes have strong opinions). I’ve done Star Wars Panel at Sakura-Con for the last seven years and I’m forever grateful for the friends I’ve made there and the stories from audience members about the goodness that Star Wars has brought to their lives.
Audience at “We’re Doomed!: A Star Wars Panel” at Sakura-Con 2014
Is the fandom perfect? No. As much as I’m accepted and respected by others, there’s still people who insinuate that my Rebel Alliance and Jedi Council tattoos aren’t real and I couldn’t possibly know as much about Star Wars as them because I’m a woman. Are there things I wish were different about Star Wars? Of course. My voice joined others with the concern of the lack of female representation after the Episode VII core cast announcement. But we stick with it, because our love ofStar Wars is too great, and we are determined to make it better, more inclusive, and more fun for everyone.
So go ahead and get your Wookiee Cookies and Han Burgers ready for your Machete order marathon (or in my case – a showing of the Ewok Adventure and the Caravan of Courage)! Fill Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with your makeship Leia bun head bands and your hand crafted stormtrooper armor! Celebrate the Force as it surrounds us and binds us as the luminous beings we are!
From the desk of Tammy Vince Cruz, GeekGirlCon design manager and vice president:
GeekGirlCon had the opportunity to have a booth at Sakura-Con’s 15th Anniversary show, and had a great time interacting with the anime community!
Always held in the spring, the cherry blossoms are generally in bloom during Sakura-Con, and this year, they did not disappoint. The Northwest’s largest anime convention has been in existence since 1998 (this GeekGirlCon staffer has attended every single one!), originally named Baka!-Con. Renamed to Sakura-Con in 2000, the 2012 con entertained and connected over 20,000 fans.
This year’s con features included haute fashion lines Angelic Pretty, H. Naoto, ATELIER-PIERROT, Obitsu brand dolls, and an amazing performance by prolific visual-kei band, Moi dix Mois. (Not going to lie, I squee’d when I heard that Mana of MALICE MIZER was going to be at Sakura-Con 2012!) There was an abundance of cosplay – many attendees dressed in popular series such as:
• Vocaloid
• Bleach
• Panty and Stocking
• Legend of Zelda
• And even a revival of Sailor Moon!
Characters from western shows such as Adventure Time and My Little Pony Friendship is Magic were prevalent as well. Sakura-Con also emphasizes Japanese culture, and I had the chance to pop into the Kabuki Academy kimono workshop and check out attendees trying on kimono and having kabuki-style make-up applied.
Sakura-Con 2012 was the second year that GeekGirlCon attended as an exhibitor, and we had the chance to speak with many people about our organization, and why we exist. This year was a pleasant change from last year, in that many more people actually had heard of us!
“Have you heard about GeekGirlCon?”
“Why yes! I already bought my pass!”
There was a steady stream of folks who stopped by, particularly intrigued by the loud clack of the prize wheel and the chance to win goodies ranging from GeekGirlCon totes to a Sakura (Street Fighter) costume that an adorable little geek gal won. Attendees could buy passes, pick up merch and prints from past GeekGirlCon events and fundraisers (buy yours on our Etsy shop too!), and find out more information about GeekGirlCon ’12. We had a steady stream of photos live tweeted throughout the weekend. Were you one of the featured cosplayers?
As always, this anime nerd looks forward to Sakura-Con 2013, and I hope to make it to the 20th Anniversary without skipping a beat! Be sure to check out Sakura-Con’s booth at GeekGirlCon ‘12 on August 11-12!
